Congress: Taxation with representation?

The move to expand the House by two members (so that DC can get a vote) is one-step closer, but there's a hitch: The Senate passed the bill but included an amendment to strip DC of some of its very tough gun laws.

Remember one-time Commerce Secretary nominee Judd Gregg? The AP has an investigative piece that looks familiar from the appropriations/earmark scandals of a few years ago -- it lines up Sen. Gregg requests with private investments. "Gregg, R-N.H., personally has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in Cyrus Gregg's office projects at the Pease International Tradeport, a Portsmouth business park built at the defunct Pease Air Force Base, once home to nuclear bombers. Judd Gregg has collected at least $240,017 to $651,801 from his investments there, Senate records show, while helping arrange at least $66 million in federal aid for the former base."

And if there are folks who are wondering why this is popping up now, check out this paragraph in the story. "The senator has said his withdrawal had nothing to do with anything the White House uncovered in his background. A White House spokesman, Ben LaBolt, declined to discuss the matter with the AP. AP began looking into the Greggs' activities at Pease before then but had not yet contacted them or the White House before Judd Gregg withdrew."